Bill Belichick appreciation thread

[SHOWTIME15]

That won in 2001 but we'll find out if that kind of QB can win it all in 2021.

Can Mac put his team on his back and carry his team to go all the way? Brady can. We'll see if Mac can too.

That won in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2018. Brady was more responsible in 2014 and 2016.

 

[sb1]

All he needs is an efficient QB who doesn't make mistakes like he had with Cassel, Garroppolo, etc. He didn't have that in Cleveland.

I wouldn't call Cassel an efficient QB who doesn't make mistakes, he made plenty. He led the league in getting sacked in 2008, those are mistakes too. Lost the Colts game with a bad INT at the end.

 

[Bill Lee]

He did say that but I think they could have made it work if they really wanted to. It's not like Brady hasn't done that before.

Mr. and Mrs. Brady made it clear the Johnny Foxborough days were over.

Now he plays on a strong team with plenty of weapons and a wide open window, and we have our new wunderkind and some impressive draft and FA pickups.

Tom came to town earlier this season, it seems the axe was buried.

Can't we all just move on and be happy with what we have?

 

[NG Pats Fan]

He drafted Mac Jones. Great QBs make franchises run. Huge credit to BB for standing pats and drafting him and for rebuilding the defense although we know Belichick is greatest defensive mind ever.

we are one game changing wide receiver away from winning a super bowl

 

[Wozzy]

Mr. and Mrs. Brady made it clear the Johnny Foxborough days were over.

Now he plays on a strong team with plenty of weapons and a wide open window, and we have our new wunderkind and some impressive draft and FA pickups.

Tom came to town earlier this season, it seems the axe was buried.

Can't we all just move on and be happy with what we have?

We don't have what we have now unless they clear cap space in 2020 and move on... they simply don't. They were borrowing to win from 2014-2019 and that wasn't sustainable. Imagine that 2020 team with no Thuney, DMC and more... that team isn't good, Brady or no.

Moving on was exactly the right thing to do. It worked out best for both player and team. After watching franchise stalwarts like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson retire early because that dumpster fire of a franchise wouldn't let them go elsewhere and play for a ring, one should feel grateful the Patriots did things the right way... I'm sure in time Tom will recognize this if he doesn't already, I suspect he does.

 

[Wozzy]

All he needs is an efficient QB who doesn't make mistakes like he had with Cassel, Garroppolo, etc. He didn't have that in Cleveland.

Worse than that Bill was the youngest head coach in NFL history at that point and the franchise was insistent he win with legend Bernie Kosar, even though Kosar's best days were long gone. BB didn't start winning until he got his guy Testeverde in there and even he wasn't amazing.

It's a lot harder to turn a dumpster fire franchise around than it is for one player to leave for a superteam elsewhere, it's like turning a large oil freighter versus a speed boat. That's why the developmental years of the greatest coaches in history (years 1-3) are largely losing seasons.

One year after taking a down year to right the cap BB has them back in contention... the anti-BB crowd are reeling, you can see how many voices are suspiciously absent from these pages or pretending they weren't talking smack all offseason. Hilarious...

 

[Biffins]

It absolutely was the best thing. There is 50 mill of cap space on this roster that wouldn’t be there if Brady stayed. Couldn’t have rebuilt with him still here, would have taken at least 3-4 years and then you rebuilt for a 45 year old qb.

Sorry but that makes no sense. You could have said thar at ANY time of Brady’s tenure. You could have said that in 2014 with Jimmy G here and kicked Brady and his contract out and rebuilt the team with the cap space saved. The reason you don’t is because Brady was still playing at an extremely high level. And hence it made sense to keep him.

We chucked him out only because we thought Brady would no longer continue to play at a high level, at least not for the 2 year contract he wanted.

We were wrong.

Just because we found Mac Jones doesn’t make the original decision right. I could have said we should have chucked Brady out in 2016, tanked in 2016 and picked Mahomes in 2017 with 10th pick and we’d be geniuses, even though Brady went to Superbowl 2016-2018 and won 2 and won 2017 NFL MVP.

You don’t know the counterfactual if Brady had stayed here. We might have been winning Superbowls both last year and this year. Who knows.

 

[Biffins]

We don't have what we have now unless they clear cap space in 2020 and move on... they simply don't. They were borrowing to win from 2014-2019 and that wasn't sustainable. Imagine that 2020 team with no Thuney, DMC and more... that team isn't good, Brady or no.

Moving on was exactly the right thing to do. It worked out best for both player and team. After watching franchise stalwarts like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson retire early because that dumpster fire of a franchise wouldn't let them go elsewhere and play for a ring, one should feel grateful the Patriots did things the right way... I'm sure in time Tom will recognize this if he doesn't already, I suspect he does.

Brady is cheap for the level he’s performing at. I am sorry but you’re wrong. We could have passed on DMac and signed Brady.

 

[Biffins]

I'd love to.

(1) the 2018 team floundered
(2) a reset was necessary
(3) Brady understandibly wanted to play for a "win now"
(4) NE got their stuff together and reloaded in the draft & FA
(5) both teams are winning at a similar clip
(6) despite Brady's unique excellence and longevity, it's LIKELY Mac will still be in the league in 4-5 years, whereas Brady LIKELY won't.

I love me some Brady, but I unlike many posters, I'm not IN love with him. I don't think NE is 8-4 with Brady in 2021 because I don't think the reset occurs to the point it did if he stuck around.

We can replace DMac and Jonnu Smith’s salary with Brady.

It’s not either/or. We’ve been reloading the teams many times in past two decades while having Brady here.

 

[ashley]

Brady is cheap for the level he’s performing at. I am sorry but you’re wrong. We could have passed on DMac and signed Brady.

Should BB be coach of the year, I'm not sure, probably every year he could win it:

 

[Biffins]

Tunescribe, I noticed that as well...I was wondering what was up with that....I always thought there was a lot of respect between both.

Vrabel came out and said “there’s a place for a lot more salary” after Kraft was building Patriot Place and that wasn’t appreciated. So he was packaged in the Cassel trade for 2nd round even though Chiefs didn’t even ask for him. And he was quite furious when he heard about the trade.

Vrabel and BB aren’t buddies.

 

[rochrist]

I'd love to.

(1) the 2018 team floundered
(2) a reset was necessary
(3) Brady understandibly wanted to play for a "win now"
(4) NE got their stuff together and reloaded in the draft & FA
(5) both teams are winning at a similar clip
(6) despite Brady's unique excellence and longevity, it's LIKELY Mac will still be in the league in 4-5 years, whereas Brady LIKELY won't.

I love me some Brady, but I unlike many posters, I'm not IN love with him. I don't think NE is 8-4 with Brady in 2021 because I don't think the reset occurs to the point it did if he stuck around.

In addition, they would not have been able to build this team while paying Tom.

 

[rochrist]

Tunescribe, I noticed that as well...I was wondering what was up with that....I always thought there was a lot of respect between both.

Vrabel has always made it a point to get under Bill's skin. He did it when he was a player here too.

 

[ashley]

Vrabel has always made it a point to get under Bill's skin. He did it when he was a player here too.

Thanks Rochrist, I never realized that. I am so used to all BB former players( not named Assanti Samuel) having respect and a good relationship with both Kraft and BB. Good to know.

 

[Steve102]

Mr. and Mrs. Brady made it clear the Johnny Foxborough days were over.

Now he plays on a strong team with plenty of weapons and a wide open window, and we have our new wunderkind and some impressive draft and FA pickups.

Tom came to town earlier this season, it seems the axe was buried.

Can't we all just move on and be happy with what we have?

The negativity in this town sucks.

 

[rochrist]

We can replace DMac and Jonnu Smith’s salary with Brady.

It’s not either/or. We’ve been reloading the teams many times in past two decades while having Brady here.

Go back to the Tampa forum.

 

[BelichicksHoodie]

Belichick should win both coach & executive of the year. Why not add another thing to the list of stuff that's never been done before?

 

[Wozzy]

Brady is cheap for the level he’s performing at. I am sorry but you’re wrong. We could have passed on DMac and signed Brady.

Brady got 50 million for two years, 25 per... Mac is getting paid $15.6 million for the next four years. The math isn't challenging.

The point being that 2020 team with no Thuney or DMC sucks, whether Brady is the QB or not. And to re-sign Tom they had to continue to borrow from future cap space to make it happen.

The 200 million they spent this offseason doesn't happen if they don't clear up that cap debt in 2020 and move on from Tom. He wanted to play with vet weapons, weapons they couldn't afford if they don't start over... where are they coming from? He didn't want to play on that team and rightly shouldn't.

The cap has to be contended with, they're getting similar QB production from a guy getting 3.9 million per now, roughly 3% of their cap spent on the QB position... that's a huge difference to 15-20% of their cap. They have all of their draft picks going forward, have the most players under contract and available cap space for the next few years... they're in amazing shape.

 

[Ring 6]

Sorry but that makes no sense. You could have said thar at ANY time of Brady’s tenure. You could have said that in 2014 with Jimmy G here and kicked Brady and his contract out and rebuilt the team with the cap space saved. The reason you don’t is because Brady was still playing at an extremely high level. And hence it made sense to keep him.

We chucked him out only because we thought Brady would no longer continue to play at a high level, at least not for the 2 year contract he wanted.

We were wrong.

Just because we found Mac Jones doesn’t make the original decision right. I could have said we should have chucked Brady out in 2016, tanked in 2016 and picked Mahomes in 2017 with 10th pick and we’d be geniuses, even though Brady went to Superbowl 2016-2018 and won 2 and won 2017 NFL MVP.

You don’t know the counterfactual if Brady had stayed here. We might have been winning Superbowls both last year and this year. Who knows.

You seem to think in a vacuum. The 2019 team was the worst of the Brady era. And the team went into 2020 with no cap room to improve it.
The 2020 team would certainly have been worse than the 2019 team and there would not have been enough cap room to make it better this year. We would have set a course to rebuild around a 45 year old QB
It was different than any of those years because we weren’t going to win.

 

[Kasmir]

I know what you're saying. I think if that was the case Vrabel would've just waved and run off the field. But he ran directly at BB, BB stopped, Vrabel looked at him and kept running. Because these two have a "history" I watched through binoculars and it came off as kind of an odd drive-by non-handshake. I think Vrabel was pissed about the game and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Just re-watched: there was a handshake between them.